New laws that impact California community colleges went into effect on Jan. 1 this year. Here’s a review of a few that CCA advocated for, shepherding them through the legislative process from ideas to bills and now laws.

AB 1028 (Fong): Due Process Rights for Part-Time Faculty
Requires, if the governing board of a community college district terminates the employment of a temporary employee, that the procedure for terminating the temporary employee comply with the provisions of the local collective bargaining agreement that pertain to the termination of
a temporary employee and provides, in all cases, that part-time faculty assignments are temporary in nature, contingent on enrollment and funding, and subject to program changes.

SB 241 (Cervantes): Requires Community College Personnel to be Human
This law requires all community college instructors, librarians, counselors, and other credentialed staff to to meet the terms of their credential, which includes being a human. This law does not prohibit community college staff from using artificial intelligence tools to assist in college operations or in providing services to students.

SB 271 (Reyes): Expansion of Basic Needs Services Definition
This bill expands the definition of basic needs services and resources to include childcare services and resources and explicitly states all available financial aid includes supplemental awards such as the Cal Grant award for students with dependent children.

SB 391 (Laird): Chancellor’s Office Data Request Fees
Our union’s efforts helped change this bill before it became a law. While the law allows the Chancellor’s Office to charge fees for access to data, our negotiations with the senator’s office resulted in the exemption of community college faculty members from these fees (in addition to undergraduate and graduate students) when the request for data is related to ongoing studies and research.